Faith without works is dead. This is a verse that theologians have danced around for centuries. What does James mean when he tells us that he can show us his faith by his works? Well, maybe we should take a look at the other half of salvation, sanctification? We are justified by faith, this is true, but what does it mean to be sanctified, and how does that tie in? James tells us that we show our faith through our works. It is through our works that our faith is made manifest. I do not think it is a coincidence that Paul tells us in Eph. 2:10 that we are the workmanship of God, right after he tells us that we are saved by grace through faith either. Sanctification is becoming the workmanship of God. When we show our faith by our works, we are showing that God’s grace has indeed transformed us into a glorious work of his hands. And without that transformation we reject the hands of God from working in our lives.
by Josh
God has transformed us? What does that mean? How does anyone know whether he’s been transformed? How does God do that?
The transformation God has done in my life is subtle. It takes a month or more until I finally stop long enough to reflect back, and that is when I see that things–such as my thought patterns, my actions, my demeanor– are different than they used to be. However, I did not consciously change anything. The only difference is I submitted to God and His will. Over time, my will slowly is becoming more like His by His power and not my own. That is what I see the transformation as being: becoming more aligned in our lifestyle to what God wills us to be like. It happens not by anything we do but by our willingness to let God have control.
To be transformed is to be changed. I hate to use something that’s almost become cliche, but it’s to be born again. Not just once, but on a regular basis (I know of one fellow who once said that the older we get, the more often we need to be born again.) Being born again isn’t just a one time baptism and/or confession.
How do you know if you’re being transformed? This is a very interesting thing for me. I know a lot of people that say that when they got saved, or baptized, or born again or however you choose to word it, their life was changed in an instant. I think that’s great, I think it’s a testimony of the power of God to change people’s lives instantly, but I also think it doesn’t apply to everyone. Some people can become Christians and not feel any difference. The change is not instant, it comes slowly. But change does come. We can see it in the way we start to treat others. Do we treat them differently, with more love, with less selfishness? Do we do things because we love God and we love people, and not because we want a favor in return?
Sometimes our lives may not look transformed. Sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes we didn’t have someone to guide us, sometimes business creeps back in. But it’s never to late to start. God is always ready to bring himself more fully into our lives.
God does this in a lot of ways, but the primary way is just spending time with God. You know, I once knew a girl named Lindsay many years ago. She was a very kind and giving person. And I spent quite a bit of time with her, and as time went on I also became a kinder and gentler person. The people we spend time with rub off on us. Spend time with God. Pray, go to Church, read the Sacred Scriptures, go out and serve the needs of others. There are a multitude of ways to do this. But the most important thing is, just let God in. Because we need to realize, God is the one who transforms us, not us. We can do all these things without one ounce of transformation, and I can tell you that from personal experience. We have to recognize that we are able to become close to God, we are able to be transformed, because of him, not because of us. We lay our trust in him, and that is the most important thing. To trust in God that in his mercy he will draw near to us when we seek him, out of his love, not out of our worthiness. Because we are many things, but worthy isn’t one of them.